The UEFA Champions League is universally seen as the trophy to win in football. As a beautiful conglomeration of the various leagues in Europe, the tournament embraces and celebrates various cultures and multiple schools of the game.
As a festival of the game featuring only the highest quality football, it is prestigious for any club in Europe to hoist the trophy. Needless to say, every game is fought with unparalleled grit for the margin for error is very minimal.
Given the stature of the event, the hardships thrown in the way of participants year after year and the sheer pressure, it is almost impossible to think that one club can boast of dominating it over the years.
Yet, Real Madrid have achieved the unthinkable and have won the trophy 15 times and are light years ahead of AC Milan (7), Liverpool (6), Bayern Munich (6) and Barcelona (5).
While football have continually evolved and changed over the years, Los Blancos have remained the perennial favourites in the event and are, in fact, even the defending champions.
As a new campaign for the European Trophy begins this week, we take a look at club’s recent successes and their chances for the upcoming campaign.
2021/22: A season of stunning comebacks
Drawn into a group with Inter Milan, Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk, Los Blancos ran away with the top spot in Group D with five wins and just one defeat. The knockouts, however, posed serious challenges their way.
Faced against PSG in the Round of 16, they lost 1-0 in the first leg and quickly conceded the second early in the second leg. Down two goals at home, a comeback appeared unlikely until Karim Benzema seriously upped his game.
Rising to the occasion, the French star fired a stellar hat-trick to send Real Madrid through and keep their campaign alive. That, however, was not the only comeback they required.
Winning 3-1 in the first leg of the quarterfinal against Chelsea with a Benzema hat-trick again, the men in white conceded three goals to go 4-3 down on aggregate in the second leg. A late Rodrygo goal and an extra-time header, however, forced another comeback.
The semifinal, by far, was the most thrilling, as Manchester City took a 4-3 lead after the first instalment. An early goal from Riyad Mahrez in the second leg extended that leg to 5-3 and all but confirmed Real Madrid’s departure.
Enter Rodrygo Goes. The Brazilian phenom netted a stunning goal in the 90th minute and followed it up with a 91st-minute equaliser on aggregate to set up a Karim Benzema winner in the 95th winner to take the team through.
The final saw the team under serious pressure once more, but a goal against the run of play by Vinicius Jr helped the team to the title, one that largely depended on Benzema’s brilliance and had little of the team’s stamp on it.
2023/24: Well-oiled machine with individual brilliance
Last season’s run was far from as dependent on individual brilliance and different members of the squad stepped up at different times of need for the Merengues.
Topping a fairly simple group, the Spanish giants were placed on the difficult half of the draw alongside Manchester City and Bayern Munich, both of whom they faced along the way.
Real Madrid, surprisingly, did not dominate any of their games enroute to the title and were in fact the team under pressure on almost every occasion.
This time, however, it was their solidarity, self-belief and mental resilience that pushed them through rather than a single individual’s brilliance.
Downing RB Leipzig in the Round of 16, Carlo Ancelotti’s men were put up against Manchester City in the quarterfinal. Both legs ended in draws but it was Pep Guardiola’s side who had the better chances by far.
Yet, the men in white held their nerve through extra time to force a shootout and their togetherness and self-belief helped them go through after penalties.
The semifinal against saw Real Madrid on the cusp of defeat as they were 3-2 down on aggregate even two minutes from full-time in the second half. Joselu, however, had other plans as he entered the field and scored a quick brace to turn it around by the 91st minute.
Once again, Real Madrid were second best for large parts of the UCL final but managed to pull through owing to superior finishing prowess.
What’s in store in 2025?
Real Madrid have not always been the dominant team in matches in the UEFA Champions League per se but have managed to maximise their existing resources and pull ahead of the crowd.
While it was individual brilliance in 2022, last year the team relied on their collective spirit and self-belief even through the lowest of lows.
As the new season of the Champions League begins, one is forced to wonder what Real Madrid’s magical power is this time around. If the first six games of the season are anything to go by, there is not much encouragement.
After all, Real Madrid have failed to win two of their five La Liga games this season with almost 50% of their goals coming from the penalty spot.
While the men in white are strengthened by the addition of Kylian Mbappe and Endrick, it now appears that the altered dynamics have compromised the quality of Vinicius and blunted the attack considerably.
Injuries, meanwhile, see the team with limited resources, especially at the back and the team is one long-term injury away from not even having a first-choice starting defensive duo.
The challenges this season are far more than the team have had to overcome in previous editions. A new format only makes it more difficult for it brings more variables, a hectic schedule and less time to recover.
As part of the new League phase, Ancelotti’s men must tide over competition from Stuttgart, Lille, Dortmund, AC Milan, Liverpool, Atalanta, RB Salzburg and Brest.
With the games coming fast with no time to breathe, the team do not have long to recover their form.
Once again starting as the favourites, Real Madrid will believe in their chances of going all the way. After all, they do have time to recover their best version before the must-win knockout clashes.
Concurrently, however, they do not seem to have their players in form to boast of individual brilliance while their mental fortitude will be put to test thanks to the pressure of expectations.
With injury troubles and an extremely cramped schedule only adding to the mix, the path to the Champions League glory looks more difficult than ever before.
